Travel Cityscape Photographer

Civil Twilight

I photograph cities during the blue hour of civil twilight. Civil twilight is the time when the city lights first turn on/off. During that moment is what I consider the perfect blend of city lights from the urban infrastructure with the fading light of day. The sky becomes a deep blue and the city lights become a warm gold. It is the photography I have loved doing for the past 11 years.

Every frame follows the same discipline:

•City lights turn on.
•Perfect blend sky and city.
•One palette of deep blue and warm gold.

I photograph with a Canon R5 mounted on a tripod fitted with a 24mm 3.5 tilt shift lens.

Singapore Marina Bay panorama at blue hour, Marina Bay Sands and the financial district reflected in still water — Singapore · Marina Bay

Marina Bay Sands anchors the harbour from the Esplanade, the entire financial district doubled in still water at civil twilight.

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur illuminated at blue hour, surrounded by the KLCC skyline — Kuala Lumpur · Petronas Twin Towers

The Twin Towers from Traders Hotel — white steel burning against the last of the blue, with Suria KLCC glowing gold below.

Tianfu Square in Chengdu at blue hour, golden spiral monument surrounded by illuminated towers — Chengdu · Tianfu Square

The golden monument at the heart of Chengdu, ringed by towers and neon under a cobalt sky — China's blue hour at its richest.

Kuala Lumpur skyline panorama at dawn, Petronas Towers, KL Tower and Merdeka 118 under a warm sunrise sky — Kuala Lumpur · Dawn Panorama

The morning crossover. The city lights are not yet needed — the sunrise carries the warmth instead, and the sky itself completes the palette.

The Collections

One hour of light, three ways.

Beyond the main gallery. Panoramas built for a wide screen, landscapes at civil twilight, and the city at street level as the lights come on.

A wide panorama of Singapore's Marina Bay at blue hour

Panoramas

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Landscape

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Street

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Henry Lam smiling beside two tripod-mounted cameras on a rooftop, the Singapore skyline behind him at the crossover hour — Henry Lam · On location in Singapore

About

The blue hour is my studio.

My name is Henry Lam. I have been a photographer since 2002. In the beginning I was meticulous in learning all the technical detail and numbers of photography. I use to buy every new gadget to stay ahead of the game. There was a time when I was able to fill the floor of a bedroom with all my fancy photography gadgets. Travelling abroad on the plane was an unique challenge. It would have been 90% photography equipment and 10% of reusable clothing.

Nowadays I like to believe that I take only a teaser of what I once did - Still considered extreme to others.
My current system is the Canon EOS R5 with my primary lens being the Canon TSE 24mm F3.5 II tilt shift lens. My second choice of lens would be a wide angle Canon EF 16-35mm 2.8 II Lens. I'll take one tripod which is my Benro Carbon Fibre with a levelling head and panoramic slider. Oh and I need to pack my 13" Macbook Pro to do the edits.

I only photograph the pictures I want to photography. I no longer seek out freelance work anymore.

Now I only take my camera if I'm going on a holiday to capture new cityscapes. It is all about planning where and when to photograph the next vantage point to publish.

I can only see the evolution being me having people come along with me on a tour to photography the pictures I take.

Civil Twilight

One hour of light, three ways.

The blue hour is my studio.

My Current Goal